2023 Atlanta Pride Festival and parade happening this weekend in Atlanta
ATLANTA - The 2023 Atlanta Pride Festival is happening this weekend, Oct. 13-15.
There will be a variety fo events, including a festival on Saturday and Sunday in Piedmont Park in midtown Atlanta and the largest gay pride parade in the South on Sunday.
The festival in the park will feature a variety of vendors, an artist market, food and beverages and plenty of entertainment. Headliners on Saturday on the Coca-Cola Main Stage are Swedish DJ duo Icono Pop, rapper Saucy Santana and Australian singer-songwriter G-Flip. Voices of Note, Out Front Theatre Company, Angie K, and Shooting Star Cabaret will appear on the Mercedes-Benz USA Stage.
Sunday's lineup includes Debby Holiday, DJ Mike Q and Starlight Cabaret. The Candybox Revue and Sweat Tea: A Queer Variety Show will take over the Mercedes-Benz stage.
On Sunday, the Atlanta Pride Parade will kick off at noon at the MARTA Civic Center Station. It will proceed down Peachtree Street to 10th Street and will end a block from the Charles Allen Gates to Piedmont Park. Approximately 5,000 people are expected to march in the parade and 100,000 are expected to watch.
There are 10 grand marshals for this year's parade, including Danielle Bonanno, executive director of Inclusive Recovery Athens and Toni-Michelle Williams, executive director of the Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative.
Other events include the Pride Kickoff Party on Oct. 13 at Georgia Aquarium; Tans March & Rally at the Charles Allen Gate at 1:15 p.m. Oct. 14; Dyke March & Rally at the Charles Allen Gate at 3 p.m. Oct. 14; a car and motorcycle show in the park between the 12h and 14th street gates on Oct. 14; and the OutWorlders Gaymer Space at The Bandstand on Oct. 14 and 15.
The Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity (SOJOURN) will kick off the weekend with an intimate Shabbat gathering at The Dock at Piedmont Park at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 14. They will also host an Atlanta Jewish Community booth at the Pride Festival at Piedmont Park from October 14-15.
On Oct. 14 from 5 to 8 p.m., midtown's Kimpton Shane Hotel will host the second installment of BrunchOUT, which features performances by national and local drag queens, a full bar, delicious brunch bites, a silent auction and more. Oct. 14's special guest is Olivia Lux, who starred in season 13 of "RuPaul's Drag Race." Tickets start at $40 plus taxes and fees.
The Big Atlanta Sasha Colby Pride Drag Brunch is happening on Oct. 15 at Southern Exchange Ballrooms in downtown Atlanta. Sasha Colby will be the featured performer. Tickets start at $25 plus taxes and fees.
Head to The Rooftop at Hotel Clermont on Ponce de Leon at 6 p.m. Oct. 12 for the Deep South Pride Kickoff.
Wild Heaven Beer is kicking off Pride weekend with a night of laughs featuring some of Atlanta's best LGBTQIA+ comics and friends.
The Eagle on Piedmont Avenue is hosting a tea dance at 4 p.m. Oct. 15.